NSERC Discovery Horizons Grant

The NSERC Discovery Horizons program is designed to support investigator-initiated individual and team projects that broadly integrate or transcend disciplines to advance knowledge in the natural sciences and engineering.

Application Process

The 2023 competition has a mandatory Letter of Intent (LOI) deadline (June 16, 2023), with invited applicants due to submit their full application in October. Applicants should consult the NSERC website and relevant ORS guidelines for their campus to confirm internal review and submission guidelines.

In the pilot competition, NSERC is expecting to award approximately 10–20 grants, valued from $50K–$100K per year, and up to 5 years.

Sponsor Site

Timeline

June

Prepare and review your LOI

Review NSERC instructions for completing an LOI
Schedule a one-on-one consultation with the SPARC team to review your draft LOI, or work with a grant facilitator in your faculty
SPARC will review draft LOIs received by June 12, 2023, on a first-come, first-served basis
Submit LOI through the Convergence portal.

August to October

Prepare and review your application

NSERC will invite applicants to the full application stage by mid-August.

Review NSERC's application instructions (current instructions apply to 2022 competition and will be updated in August 2023)
Schedule a one-on-one consultation with the SPARC team (limited availability, first-come, first-served for UBC-led applications)

October

Submit your application (See ORS procedures)

NSERC must receive the application before 5:00 p.m. Pacific on the deadline date.

See relevant ORS application procedures and internal deadlines for your campus to ensure administrative review and timely submission: Vancouver | Okanagan

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Support & Resources

One-on-One Consultation

Our team can provide advice on developing your letter of intent as well as your application in advance of the corresponding deadlines. Limited availability.

Review

Our team can provide comprehensive reviews of letters of intent for UBC-led applications in advance of the corresponding deadlines. Limited availability.

Online Resources

Check out our resources curated specifically for UBC researchers. CWL is required to view.

Contacts

Mark Phillipo
Research Development Officer
SPARC
mark.phillipo@ubc.ca

SPARC support services

Alexander Unterberger (on leave)
Manager of Research Development
SPARC
604.822.5386
alexander.unterberger@ubc.ca

SPARC support services

Dr. Purang Abolmaesumi
Sciences & Engineering Research Advisor (NSERC), UBC
604.827.4741
purang@ece.ubc.ca

Advocacy and advice

UBC's Grant Facilitation Network
Research support personnel based in the faculties
See list

Various grant support

Additional Links